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"The idea of Israel as God's chosen people ... is a key concept in rabbinic Judaism. Yet it is particularly problematic for many Jews today, in that it seems to fly in the face of monotheistic belief that all humanity is created in the divine image—and hence, all humanity is equally loved and valued by God. ...
In Judaism, "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews, via descent from the ancient Israelites, are the chosen people, i.e., chosen to be in a covenant with God.The idea of the Israelites being chosen by God is found most directly in the Book of Deuteronomy, [4] where it is applied to Israel at Mount Sinai upon the condition of their acceptance of the Mosaic covenant between themselves and God.
The phrases "the people of the Lord" [1] and "the people of the Lord your God" are also used. [2] In those texts God is also represented as speaking of the Israelites as "my people". [ 3 ] The people of God was a term first used by God in the Book of Exodus, which carried stipulation in this covenant between man and God ( Exodus 6:7 ).
The Hebrew Bible makes reference to a number of covenants (Hebrew: בְּרִיתוֹת) with God ().These include the Noahic Covenant set out in Genesis 9, which is decreed between God and all living creatures, as well as a number of more specific covenants with Abraham, the whole Israelite people, the Israelite priesthood, and the Davidic lineage of kings.
The Children of Israel were God's original chosen people by virtue of an ancient covenant, but by rejecting Jesus they forfeited their chosenness - and now, by virtue of a New Covenant (or "testament"), Christians have replaced the Jews as God's chosen people, the Church having become the "People of God."
A second interpretation is that John is rejecting the then-popular notion of "merits of the fathers" or Zekhut Avot. This principle was that because of the righteousness of Abraham and the other patriarchs, all Jews were now the chosen people and could count on goodwill from God. John is saying that no such lineage would save them from judgement.
According to Aharon Oppenheimer, the concept of the exile beginning after the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple was developed by early Christians, who saw the destruction of the Temple as a punishment for Jewish deicide, and by extension as an affirmation of the Christians as God's new chosen people, or the "New Israel". In actually, in ...
Messianic Jews, in varying degrees, challenge both thoughts, [93] and instead believing that although Israel has rejected Jesus, it has not forfeited its status as God's chosen people. Often cited is Romans 11:29: "for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable". The core of supersessionism, in which the Mosaic Covenant is canceled, is less ...